Terrance Jerrell Burnett
v.
State of Iowa
Appellant
Terrance Jerrell Burnett
Appellee
State of Iowa
Attorney for the Appellant
Jessica Donels
Attorney for the Appellee
Benjamin Parrott, Assistant Attorney General
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Pottawattamie County, Kathleen A. Kilnoski, Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Tabor, P.J., and Ahlers and Sandy, JJ. Opinion by Ahlers, J. (4 pages)
Terrance Burnett appeals the dismissal of his third post-conviction (PCR) relief application. He raises four arguments on appeal: (1) a new ground of law creates an exception to the statute of limitations governing his claim; (2) the statute of limitations violates article I, section 13 of the Iowa Constitution; (3) the 2019 amendments to the statute of limitations are unconstitutional and equitable tolling should be applied to make his application timely; and (4) his PCR trial counsel in this case was ineffective. OPINION HOLDS: Burnett’s first two arguments have already been rejected by this court and the Iowa Supreme Court. We have previously held that the case Burnett relies on does not satisfy the “new ground of law” exception, and our Supreme Court has rejected the argument that the statute of limitations violates the Iowa Constitution. Because these arguments fail, Burnett’s application is time-barred. His equitable tolling argument and challenge to 2019 statutory amendments were not raised before the district court and are not preserved for our review. As his application is untimely, we cannot reach the merits of his ineffective-assistance claim. For these reasons, we affirm the district court’s dismissal of Burnett’s PCR application.
